welp, this eventually comes up when people talk long enough. i'm interested to hear what people in this forum harmonize with politically (philosophies/philosophers, etc), however far right or left. i'll expound on my own thoughts later if this thread developes into anything.

i'll expound on my own thoughts later if this thread developes into anything.

Tsk tsk... how can you expect somebody to go first if you wont ?

It should be pretty clear where I stand. In a very broad sense you'd probably call me a socialist, but I'm a realist above all else and therefore I suppose I'm technically a Liberal.
My position against racism (and all other ism's) are on record and is very much the kind of thing I'll stand up against.

I have no time or tolerance for the far right, but I can enjoy a spirited debate with somebody with leftist viewpoint that's open minded. But politics isn't really something I go out of my way to discuss, too much of a minefield.

Btw, please note that people of opposing political viewpoints are welcome here and there's no censorship (other than for blatant spam). Racism isn't tolerated here or any neo-nazi nonsense.
If you want a spirited debate on politics in this thread, go ahead, but keep it civil and don't revert to petty flames..

A minefield indeed! I would say I am pretty liberal, although I do have strong views regarding the punishment of severe crimes, especially in today's climate of soft, weak sentencing. In my opinion, the key is balance; as every situation is generally unique, therefore, requires an open mind. That may sound rather vague, but I think it is dangerous/unwise to be stuck in a certain mindset, which may hinder your judgement on Politcal issues.

The retrieval of a certain piping hot pizza had presented itself as a paramount issue as established by a household of hungry nagging people/pesky vital organs signaling a need for nutrient intake (now that's what I call politics... )

I concur with many ideas expressed in regard to socialist philosophy. Recently, I read a beautifully written book/essay by Noam Chomsky entitled Government in the Future (basically a transcript of a speech made at the Poetry Center of the New York YM-YWHA on Feb 16, 1970. click here for the original audio recording). In this document he makes a case for libertarian socialist organization.

B wrote:

But politics isn't really something I go out of my way to discuss, too much of a minefield.

A highly explosive one at that.

Much solidarity.

Last edited by walking barcode on February 23rd, 2007, 12:35 am, edited 3 times in total.

During my time, I have meandered just about all over the poltical spectrum:left to right; authoritarianism to libertarianism. What I have arrived at, is an ideal which is a synthesis between both nationalism and globalism, where future 'nations' would enjoy a symbiotic relationship with all their neighbours though competitive co-operation; a desire to elevate all humankind, not just a few narrow groups, through applied neoeugenics, genetic engineering, and transhumanism; a complete divorce of government from financial wealth and religion; and a free marketplace of ideas.

...where future 'nations' would enjoy a symbiotic relationship with all their neighbours though competitive co-operation; a desire to elevate all humankind, not just a few narrow groups, through applied neoeugenics, genetic engineering, and transhumanism; a complete divorce of government from financial wealth and religion; and a free marketplace of ideas.

How long will it be before the evolution of technology allows for a reality one currently can only dream of, such as the one considered in the subject of Paradise-engineering: The Hedonistic Imperative? Perhaps sooner than we could imagine, as Ray Kurzweil proposes in his book The Singularity is Near. In it he claims homosapien beings will merge with machine around 2045.

For those of us who are motivated to do all that is possible in the present to remain healthy enough to live into such a future, in another book, Fantasitc Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman "offer a program designed to slow aging and disease processes to such a degree that you should be in good health and good spirits when the more extreme life-extending and life-enhancing technologies--now in development--become available."

As beautiful as these ideas are, lets not forget their possible consequences, or the fact that they are not going to be easily attained and will most likely be faced by many boundaries, in my opinion, mostly by humans themselves who cannot overcome the fear associated with such change. But I digress, in the words of Antonio Gramsci "pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will."

Police, SWAT Team Surround Ed Brown's Property
New Waco could be unfolding

Paul Joseph Watson
Thursday, June 7, 2007

A new Waco could be underway as reports come in of law enforcement, APC's and SWAT team personnel descending on the home of Ed Brown, the tax protester who has threatened to use force to defend himself against authorities.

We have now received unconfirmed reports that the Brown house is on fire.

Fred Smart, a close friend of the Brown's confirmed that Brown's phone has been cut and that at around 8:30PM last night a silent surveillance drone with a bright beaming light encircled the Brown's property as if conducting reconnaissance.

News reporters have confirmed that police have surrounded the property and that they were kept away from the property. Neighbors have been evacuted from their homes.

Officer Jack McLamb attempted to call the Sheriff's office in the area but was told that he was out of town.

Authorities have been telling reporters that they would not violently engage the Brown family for the past few months but this now appears to be the case.

"Dozens of heavily armed state police and federal agents have assembled near the rural Grafton County home of tax protesters Ed and Elaine Brown."

"About 50 state troopers, some armed with high-powered rifles, along with a vehicle from the explosives unit gathered this morning in Plainfield, a small town where Edward and Elaine Brown have holed up in their home since being convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms," reports the Plainfield Union Leader.

We are encouraging people in the Plainfield area to get down to the area immediately to see what is happening.

More on this story as it develops.....
______________________________________________________________________

any thoughts?

(ps i'm unsure if this post is incorrectly placed or too big, if so my apologies.)

[size=117]Not that IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m an elitist/pseudo-intellectual snob who has a need to didactically force onto everyone some sort of profound message or vast revelation Ã¢â‚¬â€œ but I feel compelled to share with you all something I worked on a while ago, if you so choose to read it.

Media Culture Order ~ By Christopher Patrick Hayden

Mass media reinforces the dominance of the existing culture and order. It inundates the population with a point of view that deviates very little from established norms. The total accumulation of ways one can live life -- as established by previous generations Ã¢â‚¬â€œ will consequently face minimal objection. Those who do object, for the most part, are effectively marginalized.

Mass media is media that emanates from a central point designed to be consumed by large audiences; that is, the same identical message disseminated to numerous recipients. The singular of media Ã¢â‚¬â€œ medium -- is any physical material that records or holds information; that is, patterns of raw data Ã¢â‚¬â€œ in this case, print or electronic.

Veritable legend and media critic, Marshall McLuhan, probed that all media, in essence, are direct physical or mental extensions of the self; that is, a book is an extension of the eye, an LP record is an extension of the ear, and electric circuitry is an extension of the nervous system.

On a microcosmic scale, the cultural impact of any self-extension results in the displacement of the other senses. This affects how we think, and how we view the world and ourselves within it. This modification of thought in turn modifies man himself. Marshall Mcluhan made a distinction that, Ã¢â‚¬Å“literate culture is visual and detached -- it created the civilized man, the detribalized man, the man who is not involved. And the effect of the electric revolution is to create once more an involvement that is total.Ã¢â‚¬Â

As Poland has been under Soviet influence for 50 years (1939-1989) I have little understanding for left-wingers indeed. During these years one could clearly observe how the shining socialist ideas result in opression, humiliation and social apathy.

For any of you, who are not very convinced with what I have written above, I reccomend watching this short clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VivO_ZfZwE&feature=related, which covers the so called 'war state', which was declared by the socialist regime in order to deal with 'Solidarity'.

I'm middle-right - maybe in another reality things would be different...

As Poland has been under Soviet influence for 50 years (1939-1989) I have little understanding for left-wingers indeed. During these years one could clearly observe how the shining socialist ideas result in opression, humiliation and social apathy.

For any of you, who are not very convinced with what I have written above, I reccomend watching this short clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VivO_ZfZwE&feature=related, which covers the so called 'war state', which was declared by the socialist regime in order to deal with 'Solidarity'.

I'm middle-right - maybe in another reality things would be different...